Ohana Means Family
by WhymustREALITY
Summary: "We barely even know each other." she reminds him. He shrugs. "Sure we do. Your name is Thalia, you're twelve years old, you're a bad liar and a lousy thief. I'm Luke, I'm fourteen, and I'm incredibly handsome and generous." The beautiful story of Thaluke everybody. Plus leetle Annabeth.
1. Chapter 1

She walks slowly down the isle, glancing nervously at the cashier and then at the camera poised above her on the ceiling. She bites her lip-she knows this is a bad idea, but she's _so_ hungry. Her stomach growls angrily. The cashier is occupied-it's now or never.

Her fingers graze the package. She carefully puts it in the pocket of her jacket. She removes her hand and looks to the cashier. He didn't notice. She fails to suppress a grin. She did it! She actually-

"Hey!" an angry voice calls, causing her to jump. "You have to pay for that!"

For a moment, she just stares back at him, wide-eyed and speechless, like a deer caught in headlights. The whole store has gone silent, and everyone is watching her. And then she makes her decision.

She bolts.

She hears the cashier shouting behind her, and she's almost to the door, when out of nowhere her path is blocked and she slams into someone tall and _hard_.

"Whoaaa slow down!" the boy grins, gripping her shoulders. He is at least a foot taller than her, with blue eyes and sandy blond hair. She tries to get around him, but he holds fast.

The cashier reaches them and grabs her arm. "I"m calling the police." he growls, getting out his cell phone.

"Don't waste your time." the boy says, pulling a couple of bills from his pocket and holding them out to the cashier. "It's on me."

The cashier hesitates, still glaring at her, and snatches the money from the boy's hand. "Get out." he orders.

The boy nods a thank you and she follows him through the door, her brain still trying to process what had just happened.

"Hey..uhm..thanks..." she manages, avoiding eye contact. She digs out her prize and starts to walk away.

He raises his eyebrows. "All that for a _Twinkie_?"

She frowns. "I was hungry..."

He smiles. He has a nice smile, she realizes. "If you wanna come home with me, I think I've got some extra food I could spare."

She considers his offer. She doesn't know this guy, but he did cover for her. Plus, he didn't look dangerous, but she could probably take him if she needed too. And the Twinkie would probably only hold her off for a few hours...

She nods. "Ok."

"Great." He turns and points down the sidewalk. "This way."

They walk in silence for what seems like a long time, until he finally breaks the silence.

"You got a name?" he asks without turning back to look at her.

She hesitates before answering. "Thalia."

He turns and walks backwards so he can see her. "Well hello Thalia. I'm Luke." he smiles, holding out his hand.

She reaches out and shakes it, forcing a smile. "Hi."

"We turn here." he says stepping off of the sidewalk and into the grass. Towards...a forest?

Thalia stops, suddenly confused. "You sure?"

"Positively." he calls, stepping into the foliage.

Thalia doesn't move, suddenly considering his sanity. She tries again, "Your house is in the _woods_?"

"_Yes_, Thalia." he says. It feels weird, she thinks, him just using her name like that as if he's known her his whole life. Her stomach rumbles again. She sighs and follows him.

She skeptically follows behind him, squinting through the trees to try and get a glimpse of this 'house' he speaks of. After struggling through a half hour of thorn bushes, poison ivy, and tree branches, she finally sees it.

It's more like a hut than a house. It is carefully crafted from rows of thick sticks placed deep in the earth for stability. Tying it together is what looks like rolls and rolls of electrical tape, and the roof is made up of more sticks placed horizontally and topped off with a layer of foliage.

Thalia had never seen anything more awesome.

"You live here?!" she marvels, running a hand along the wall.

Luke stands back and nods, looking up proudly at his creation. "Home sweet home." Then he ducks under the doorway, beckoning her to follow.

The inside is even more impressing. There's a sleeping bag on the floor, complete with a fluffy pillow and a grinning teddy bear. In one corner is a pile of unfolded clothes; Thalia wonders how he can tell the dirty ones from the clean ones. A dusty lamp hangs from the ceiling, flickering slightly. He even managed to obtain a fold out chair, and on it sat a colorful boardgame labeled '_Sorry!'_. Her eyes widen when she sees the portable DVD player next to it and a stack of DVDs on top. But the best part is the old wooden table standing in the corner, piled high with snacks. She forces her gaping mouth closed to keep from drooling.

Luke hastily kicks the teddy bear under the sleeping bag, his cheeks reddening. "So, uh, you hungry?"

She nods.

"Ok, I've got Cheetos, a couple apples, some cans of chicken noodle soup..." he lists, sorting through his stash.

Thalia wrinkles her nose. "You eat the soup right out of the can?"

He rolls his eyes and pulls a box of matches from his pocket. "Actually, there's this thing called 'fire'. Ever heard of it?"

Her cheeks grow hot. "Soup sounds good." she says quickly.

"Soup it is."

He grabs a pot off the table and she follows him outside to a small fire pit she hadn't seen before. She watches as he positions the logs, lights a match, and tosses it in. She crouches on her knees next to it; the sun was going down, and the warmth of the fire felt great against her cool skin.

Just minutes later, the pair is sipping warm soup from oversized bowls-Luke didn't have any spoons. Maybe it's just because she's starving, but she swears it's the best chicken noodle soup she has ever had.

"So Thalia," Luke says between sips, "You got a last name?"

She falters. Technically, Luke is still a stranger. "Just Thalia." she says.

"Alright, 'Just Thalia'. How old are you?"

"Sixteen." she says as confidently as she can.

He laughs. "You're not sixteen."

"Fine." she surrenders. "I'm twelve."

He smiles. "Fourteen."

She smiles weakly and continues sipping her soup. Once she sucks down the last drop, she puts down her bowl and stands.

"Thanks again," she says, "For the soup and the uh...drug store mishap..." she clears her throat and continues, "Well, I should probably be getting home now, so..." She waves awkwardly and begins to walk away.

"Home huh?" he questions, and she knows he can see right through her lies.

She keeps it up anyways. "Yeah...my mom, you know...she's probably worried."

For a moment he just stares at her, and she swears he is suppressing a smile. "I've got an extra sleeping bag if you wanna crash here." he offers.

Thalia chews on her lip. Part of her thinks he's done her far too many favors already, and she doesn't like to be in anyone's debt. But the other part of her cringes at the thought of spending another sleepless night in the cold darkness of a damp, smelly alley.

"We barely even know eachother." she reminds him.

He shrugs. "Sure we do. Your name is Thalia, you're twelve years old, you're a bad liar and a lousy thief. I'm Luke, I'm fourteen, and I'm incredibly handsome and generous."

She crosses her arms and tries hard not to smile, though it doesn't work. "Alright." she says. "But just for one night."

"Fine with me." He stands and ducks into the hut. She follows, and he tosses her a neon orange sleeping bag.

"Well," he grunts, struggling to get into his navy blue one. "Goodnight Thalia." He lays down facing away from her and then is silent. Thalia just stands there, clutching the sleeping bag. Her cheeks grow hot, because she is suddenly aware of the fact that she will be sleeping not only in the same room as, but right next to a _boy_.

Luke on the other hand, doesn't seem the least bit concerned.

"You mind turning the light off?" he asks.

She sighs, switches off the lamp and unfolds her sleeping bag, making sure to leave at least a four foot gap inbetween them.

Shivering, she burrows deeper into the sleeping bag, absorbing its warmth. She listens to Luke's gentle breathing across the room-he's already asleep. She doesn't realize how exhausted she is until she closes her eyes and feels herself falling almost immediately into unconciousness. And then she surrenders to sleep, her breathing slowing and falling in time with his.

* * *

*waves nervously* hey guys...ha...don't be mad...I know I do this constantly but uh...I started a new story! Well obviously but still. Yes yes I am aware that I haven't finished ANY of my other stories, but idk. Endings just aren't my thing. I know I'll have to do it sooner or later but for now I'm just gonna put it off. This one though. I already know how it ends. And unfortunatetly, you guys probably do too. *sniff* *sniff* Thalia no! :'(

Well enjoy this while it's not depressing.

Have an awesome day! May the Fates not be against you!

jk the Fates hate everyone


	2. Chapter 2

Thalia awakes with a start when an earth-shaking roar echoes through the forest.

She sees the empty sleeping bag next to her and a feeling of horror washes over her. Luke is gone.

This is all her fault. Luke...she never should have agreed to come with him. Associating with her only put him in danger. She should have known they would follow her. And now they're here.

Another roar.

But this time, she also hears yelling.

Luke.

She grabs her mace canister out of her pocket and races outside, gasping when she sees it: a massive bronze lion with a human face and a long, scorpion-like tail.

Luke is cornered on the ground, staring up at the creature in horror. He glances desperately at something shiny lying in the grass just out of reach. He tries for it, but something shoots from the monster's tail and impales itself in the ground just between the object and his fingers, causing him to jerk back his hand.

He keeps his eyes trained on the lion as it steps closer, and says as calmly and firmly as possible,

"Thalia. Run."

He's right, she could easily escape this; the monster hasn't even noticed her yet. But this never would have happened if it weren't for her. Instead, she activates her mace canister and it lengthens into a long, deadly spear. Luke's eyes widen, and she charges.

Just before her spear tip makes contact with its target, the monster turns and swats her away with one ginormous paw.

She hits the ground hard, gasping for air. Her spear has landed a few feet away, and the lion looms over her, its human face twisted into an evil sneer.

Her breathing quickens and she can feel her heart beat pulsing through her head. This is it, she thinks. She's going to die.

But then the lion's mocking expression changes. Its smirk melts and its eyes widen, and blood drips from its maw.

And then it falls to the ground, dead.

And there stands Luke, gripping in his hand a bloody...sword?

"You okay?" he asks, giving her a hand up. She manages a nod, still in shock. She feels even worse when she sees the long, bloody scratches running down his arms and legs, and here he is, giving _her_ a hand up.

"I'm sorry-" she stutters. "This-" she gestures to the slowly disintegrating manticore and Luke's various injuries. "This is all my fault-"

Luke raises an eyebrow, suddenly confused. "_Your_ fault? They came for_ me_."

They came for _him_? That couldn't be right...they been after her for _weeks_. "But...they..." she stammers.

"Follow you everywhere? Show up when you're least expecting it? Try to rip your guts out?" he guesses exactly. "Me too..."

Thalia is almost happy. This...this means that she isn't alone. She isn't the only one going through this.

A crooked smile plays on his lips. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think we made a _pretty_ good team back there." he says.

"So..." he picks up her spear form the gorund, handing it to her. "Why face them alone, when we could face them together?"

Thalia grins.

"So whadaya say?" he spits into his palm and holds it out to her. "Partners?"

She hesitates, wrinkling her nose slightly at his hand, but then gives in and does the same. "Partners." she says.

* * *

Sorry, I know it's way shorter, but it just seemed like a good place to stop you know? Next chapter will be longer, cross my heart and hope to die. And yes, I know I suck at action scenes but just bear with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I went on a 6 hour roadtrip to Michigan and this is how I occupied myself. I got it done in the car and was going to post it yesterday, butttt I forgot. Well...enjoy.

* * *

The morning sun glows through Thalia's eyelids and she hears birds chirping cheerfully outside. She rolls over and sees Luke stretched out on top of his sleeping bag clutching Claudia, his stuffed bear, in one arm.

She smiles. For such a tough guy, he lets his inner child show an awful lot.

Rubbing her eyes, she grabs a poptart from the stash and stumbles out of the hut. She finds a log next to the pile of charcoal from their campfire and sits down. The poptart is the brown sugar flavor, her favorite. She takes a bite and sticks her tongue right inbetween the layers and into the sweet, sugary goodness of the middle, savoring it.

She's just licking the last crumbs off of her fingers when Luke emerges, his hair dischevelled and his blue eyes still clouded with sleep. He sits next to her and unwraps a poptart of his own.

"Morning." he says through a mouthful.

She forces a smile. "Morning."

She picks up a stick from the ground and tries to loosen the dirt from under her fingernails.

"So Thalia," he begins casually. "If we're going to be partners, we should probably get to know each other a little better."

"Okay." she says skeptically, continuing to pick at her nails.

"So," he pauses, chewing. "Why don't we play a little game."

She raises her eyebrows. "A game?"

He nods. "I'll go first." he says. She's still waiting for him to explain the rules of this 'game', but he doesn't seem to think it's important. "What's your..." he drags it out, still thinking. "Favorite Disney movie?" he decides.

"The Lion King." she answers, smiling at the thought.

He nods. "Good movie. Okay, your turn."

"What's your favorite color?" she says, catching on.

"Aw come on, could you be more unoriginal?" he complains, but answers the question anyway. "Blue. But the really bright blue," he explains. "Like...electric, almost."

He pops his knuckles. "Alright...favorite season?"

She pauses, thinking. "Winter."

"Winter?" he repeats, surprised. "Why do you like winter?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Building snowmen, gift-giving, hot chocolate..." She doesn't go on to say that winter and Christmas were also the only times her mother was happy; the only time she would smile and hug them and help them make Christmas cookies. The only time she would tell them bedtime stories and kiss them goodnight. It was the only time of year that she actually acted like their mother.

She shakes the memories from her mind. "What are your...hobbies?" she asks.

He laughs, shaking his head. "Thalia, you're really not good at this, are you?" She feels her face grow hot. "Well, it's hard to have 'hobbies' when you're living out in the wilderness, fighting for your life almost every day," he says bitterly. "but when I get the chance, I like to go swimming."

She nods. _A swim would be nice right now_, she thinks, wiping some perspiration from her hairline as the sun rose higher into the afternoon.

"My turn." Luke says. "Why did you run away from home?"

Thalia can feel the color draining from her face, her body stiffening. "I uhm," she stutters, trying not to get too defensive. "I don't want to talk about it."

Luke shrugs it off, but he knows that their game is over. He doesn't want to upset her any further, so he changes the subject. "You know, I could really use a swim right now." he says. "How 'bout you?"

* * *

"You first." Luke says.

Thalia looks over the cliff at the water below, her toes lingering on the edge and shakes her head. "Nope." she decides. She can feel her heart pounding inside her chest, her instincts screaming at her to get as far away from the edge as possible.

"Aw, c'mon."

"Uh-uh."

Luke's eyes widen with realization and a smirk spreads across his face. "You're afraid of heights." he says.

Her cheeks redden. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

She glares at him, but he just stares back, still smirking. Finally she gives up and breaks eye contact. "Fine." she sighs. "I'm afraid of heights."

"If I go first, do you promise to jump?" he negotiates.

She crosses her arms over her chest. "If you go first and _don't_ end up mangled on hidden rocks, or killed by impact alone, then yes, I will jump."

"You'll jump." he says, making sure.

"_Yes_." she repeats, annoyed.

He steps closer to the edge. "Alright well..." he starts to jump, and just as he leaps off into the air, he grabs her arm. "I don't believe you."

And then they go down.

Thalia usually hates it when girls scream-it's always so high-pitched and annoying, but in this moment she can't help it. Her blood is pure adrenaline, and the weightlessness is the most awful thing she has ever felt. And she is going to _kill_ Luke. That is, if they even survive this.

And then, they hit the water.

Thalia comes up coughing, and Luke grins next to her, flipping his dripping hair out of his eyes. She tries to tread water, but she is shaking so much from the fall that it's hard to stay up.

He laughs at her struggle. "Need some help?" he says, reaching out and holding her up by the arms.

She glares at him. "Not from_ you_!" she snaps.

He shrugs. "Alright then." She is unprepared when he suddenly lets go of her and she goes under, resurfacing once again in a fit of coughs.

"That's what I thought." he smirks, supporting her once again. This time, she doesn't object.

"I don't like you." she decides.

"You sure?" he mocks. "Because I could just..." he starts to release her again.

"I'm kidding, I'm _kidding_!" she begs, holding tight to his arms. Despite her stubbornness, she knows she is not the best swimmer. He smirks. He does that a lot, she realizes.

He keeps a hold of her wrist and swims over to a shallower part of the lake. She sighs in relief when she feels her toes reach the pebbles at the bottom.

"Better?"

She nods.

It's a beautiful day. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the lake water feels cool and refreshing against her skin.

Suddenly, Luke's eyes widen at something in the water below them. "Oh my god...is that what I think it is?"

"What?!" Thalia's heart rate picks up and she looks desperately for the horrible thing he is seeing. "What is it?!"

Without warning he leaps backwards away from it. "Snake!" he yells.

Thalia screams and kicks her feet, trying to scare it away and swim to shore. But her terror is cut short when she realizes that Luke is no longer yelling, he is laughing.

"Luke..." she growls, her anger rising. She has had enough of his antics today.

"Yes, Thalia?" he mocks, still chuckling.

He is caught off guard when she splashes him hard in the face. He groans and wipes the water from his eyes, but he's still smiling.

"It's on."

He jumps towards her, but she is faster. She continues splashing him as he chases her, but then he disappears under the water. She looks around, confused, until she feels something grab her feet. She yells and kicks, and he resurfaces behind her laughing.

And she is surprised to find that she is laughing too.

It feels odd, and somewhat foreign, like a very old memory. She hasn't laughed, or even smiled in a _very_ long time.

And she had forgotten just how wonderful it felt.

* * *

They lay side by side in the grass, their damp skin soaking up the afternoon sun. Thalia wears some of Luke's clothes, since the only ones she had were now soaked. He says that tomorrow they'd go out and get her some new ones.

And so they lay there in comfortable silence, eyes closed, breathing in the summer air and listening to the swaying trees and the chirping birds.

"Luke?"

"Yeah." he answers sleepily.

"It's Grace."

He furrows his eyebrows. "What?"

"My last name," she says. "It's Grace."

For a moment he is silent.

"Thalia Grace." he says, smiling. "Pretty."

And he knows that he has finally earned her trust, or at least some of it.

* * *

So whadja think? Did you notice that Luke's favorite color is the color of Thalia's eyes? And I found a way to incorporate Lion King! yayyyyyyy for Disney movies


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's been so long. I tried to make this a longer chapter, but it's not much longer than the chapter before :/. A for effort? I actually got really emotional writing this... Jason :'( . Well, we all know he's okay, but Thalia doesn't. Oh and i know I haven't mentioned much about you know, _the monsters they're running from!_ but I just kinda got a bunch of ideas and forgot about that part. I mean...it's not that important right? I mean it's only the whole reason they're living in the wilderness and have to steal everything, right? jkjk don't hit me. I'll try to have a monster encounter in the next chapter. Well, enjoy!

* * *

Thalia groans angrily as she falls to the ground once again, Luke's sword at her throat.

He pulls back and wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Again."

She sighs. They have been at this for hours, and no matter how many times he goes over the attack strategies, she still loses every time. She slowly stands, the sword Luke gave her heavy in her hand, straining her wrist.

She jabs at him, but he blocks it, and the shrill sound of metal on metal fills the forest once again. She grits her teeth as his blade knicks her arm. He raises his eyebrows, as if to ask if she is surrendering, but she's not giving up yet. She goes for his side, forcing him to jump out of the way. He stares at her, but then his shocked expression changes to a grin. "Geez Thals!"

He blocks her next strike and then twists around her-some maneuver Thalia cannot remember the name of-and before she knows it, she's on the on the ground again, the point of his sword poking her lightly in the chest.

"Nice try though." he grins.

She scowls and swats the sword away, ignoring his outstretched hand and struggling to her feet.

The new shoes he swiped for her chafe at her heels as she walks away. She looks down at her pale, skinny arms and blistered hands and sighs. She's usually a very quick learner, but Luke's sword lessons don't seem to be getting her anywhere. She still _can't do it_.

"They'll turn into callouses soon enough." Luke assures her, following closely behind.

She doesn't answer, still too frustrated to talk. He seems to get the message and ducks into the tent to let her be for awhile, which she is very grateful for.

And so she just walks. She walks, with no destination in mind, straight into the forest. And she doesn't stop until the toe of her path is interrupted when her shoe collides with the trunk of a very large maple tree. She stares up through the branches, the sun shining through the leaves, beckoning her.

And she climbs.

Higher and higher, until looking down makes her shaky and fear begins to grow inside her chest, making her heart beat so fast she can hear it pounding in her ears.

And higher, until the branches get thinner and bend beneath her weight, and her hands are so stiff and clammy that she can barely keep climbing.

And higher, until she feels closer to the sky than the ground, and the fear inside her chest has exploded into something better, something great.

Triumph.

* * *

Luke is waiting when she returns. "You good now?" he asks. She nods, smiling to herself. He notices the light scratches on her arms and legs, but doesn't prod.

"You know something Luke?" she asks suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"I don't know _your_ last name."

He chuckles; he had completely forgotten. "Castellan," he says. "Luke Castellan."

"Luke Castellan." she repeats, pondering it. It sounds powerful and courageous, like the name of a medieval knight or something, she thinks. He's got the sword at least.

"Does uhm..." she falters. "Does 'Luke Castellan' have a family?" She rubs her blisters nervously, avoiding his eye contact.

He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and bites the inside of his lip. "I've got a mom." he says. "But we're not much of a family anymore."

"What happened?"

He shrugs. "She kind of went insane. Sometimes she had these...attacks. She would grab me...and her voice, it just-" he stops not wanting to go into it. "I guess I ran away because she scared me." he admits. By the way he says it, Thalia can tell it's something he's not proud of.

He looks to her. "What about you?"

She takes a deep breath, choosing her next words carefully. "She was a drunk. She didn't care about me anymore, so I left." she says as bluntly as possible. "I never knew my dad."

He smiles sadly. "That's one thing we have in common."

She looks up at him, at his tanned face, his messy hair damp with sweat, and his sky-blue eyes meeting hers. She wonders how he can still be smiling; it seems like he always is. And as she feels her lip start to curl upward, she realizes that it is also contagious.

* * *

Luke is just about to call it a night when he realizes that something is missing. Something very important.

He probes the sleeping bag with his foot as casually as possible, not wanting to catch Thalia's attention. He glances over at her; her back is to him, and she seems to be completely engrossed in her book. He begins to look more frantically, but it is nowhere to be found.

He clears his throat. "Hey..uhm..Thalia?"

"Yes?" She sounds slightly annoyed.

"Have you uh...seen my uhm..."

She doesn't turn, but holds up a grinning stuffed bear. "You mean _this_?"

He frowns and snatches it from her hand. "I was hoping _I_ could sleep with Claudia tonight." she says mockingly, sticking out her bottom lip and putting on her sad puppy face.

His cheeks are flushed and he glares at her. "How'd you know her name was Claudia?"

Thalia shrugs. "I heard you talking to her last night."

"What?! I don't-" her knowing smirk stops him midsentence and he returns to his sleeping bag in defeat. She flips off the lamp and they lay there in silence, until Thalia can't keep her mouth shut any longer.

"Cute name by the way." she says. "_Claw_-dia. Claws, like a bear. Very macho." Instead of a simple 'shut up' or a defensive counter, she recieves a pillow thrown hard at her face.

"Hey!"

She hears him snicker. "I'm actually gonna need that back." he says through the darkness.

She rolls her eyes and throws it back at him just as hard, satisfied at his startled groan.

She could get used to this, she admits.

* * *

It had been one of those days.

One of those days when her mind drifts back to the good times with her mother and her old life at school. One of those days when she missed her old bedroom and that ancient tree in her backyard that she used to sit in to get some peace and quiet. One of those days when she missed...him.

She had vowed to put her old life behind her; after all, the memories of it only bring her down. But today she reaches her breaking point. Her hand is shaking as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the picture.

He is beautiful. With that glowing, two-year old skin, his sweet smile comprised of only a handful of new teeth, his eyes bluer than the sky itself.

She feels a lump forming in her throat, and a tear escapes, trailing down her cheek. It's funny, she thinks, how a mere piece of paper can make someone feel so many emotions at once.

This was the last picture she had of him, taken just weeks before... the incident. He would be six now...today is his birthday. The longer she stares at it, at how happy he is, how little and naiive, the harder it is for her to hold in her tears.

"Thalia?"

Damn it. She hadn't even heard Luke walk up. "You okay?" he asks quietly.

She wants to yell at him, tell him he can't just sneak up on her like that. Her instincts tell her to ignore her feelings, to shove the picture back into her pocket and wipe away the tears like it never happened.

But that's what she's been doing her whole life.

And this time, she can't.

Her lip quivers as she shakes her head, and everything, all the emotions she had been trying to suppress, come flooding up all at once. And then without hesitation, he's there, next to her. He pulls her to him; she's sobbing now, her tears soaking into his shirt. But he doesn't say a word, because he knows that nothing he says is going to change the way she is feeling right now. He knows that words can't fill that gaping hole she has been harboring.

And he knows that right now, she doesn't need meaningless condolences or unwanted sympathy.

She just needs someone to be there, someone to lean on, until the pain subsides.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's been so long. Summer has been much busier than I anticipated. And I probably won't be updating much in the next three weeks because I have two weeks of church camp and I'm going on a mission trip to Jamaica. Well, wish me luck, and as always, enjoyyy**

* * *

"Remember, don't look back. If you act nervous, they'll suspect something." Luke coaches in a hushed voice. He wants to make sure she doesn't screw up like she did last time.

"Okay, okay!" Thalia gasps, shooing him away. He sighs and disappears down an adjacent isle. She pulls the wrinkled piece of paper from her coat and studies it. She's supposed to get peanut butter, canned beans, matches, and apples.

She takes a shaky breath, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

_Don't look back, don't look back_, she tells herself as she carefully slides a can of beans inside her jacket. She slowly does the same with the peanut butter, and then again with the apples. Success. She tries to smooth down her jacket, worried that it looks too bulky and someone will be able to tell that she's stealing. But there's no time to worry. All she has left are the matches.

Which happen to be located right next to the register.

Another deep breath, and she walks over as casually as she can. The cashier looks up from her crossword puzzle and smiles at her, and she smiles back.

"Nice day." Thalia comments, trying to make small talk.

The woman spins her pen between her fingers. "Oh yes! It's nice to have a break from the rain." she says.

_"_You have no idea..." Thalia mumbles under her breath. When you're living in a tent in the middle of the forest, rain can make things quite miserable.

She glides her fingers over the matches, pretending to be interested in the magazine headlines. Slowly, she removes it from the stack...almost...

"You wouldn't happen to know a kind of cheese that's only four letters would you?" the cashier asks suddenly, startling Thalia. She drops the matches and they land softly on the floor next to her foot.

"Uh, would 'feta' work?"

The woman studies the paper and grins, writing it down. "Yes! Thanks, I don't think I ever would have thought of that on my own."

Thalia forces a smile and quickly snatches the matches from the ground and stuffs them into her pocket while the woman is still occupied. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Luke sneaking outside.

All supplies obtained, check. Now, for the exit. She clears her throat. "Well, I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I should probably get going." she explains, heading for the doors. "My erm..._brother_ is waiting."

The cashier nods and waves half-heartedly, engrossed in her puzzle. And so Thalia goes for the doors. Closer and closer. The cashier hasn't even looked up. She pushes the door open, steps through-

And then, it's over.

Luke pops out from around a corner, his jacket also heavy with supplies. "What took you so long?" he criticizes.

She scowls. "Sorry, I'm not as 'experienced' as you."

He smirks. "Sorry Thals." he says. "You did an 'okay' job. For a rookie."

She rolls her eyes, reaching in her jacket and pulling out the jar of peanut butter. After fumbling with the lid and that obnoxious paper seal they put under it, she scoops some out with her finger, savoring it. It's the good kind of peanut butter, not the goopy kind you have to stir; it's the sugary, creamy kind. And it's _delicious_.

Luke reaches over and sticks his finger in too. That's one of the pros of being a runaway; you're allowed to stick your fingers in the peanut butter jar, and drink the milk straight from the carton, and not eat your vegetables. Every kid's dream.

She nudges Luke as they walk. "What'd you get?" she asks.

He grins and pulls a half-pound bag of Skittles from his cargo shorts. She lunges for them, but as usual, he's taller.

"Aw, Luke c'mon!" she begs straining to reach them.

He carefully opens the bag, and Thalia swears she can smell their sweetness. "Let's play a game." he suggests. She sighs. Luke and his 'games'.

But if she gets a few Skittles out of it, what's the harm?

"Close your eyes." he tells her.

"That's sort of hard to do while we're walking, Luke." she points out.

"Just real quick." he says. "And open your mouth too."

She reluctantly obeys, and instantly feels him place something sweet on her tongue. "Okay, you can look now."

"Guess." he demands.

She furrows her eyebrows, confused. "Guess what?"

"The _color_!"

Ohhh. She rolls it over in her mouth, letting it slowly melt. She tastes...a hint of lime? "Green." she decides

"Yup." She smiles, liking this game. Taking the bag from him, she chooses a color and pops it in his mouth.

He chews it a little before answering, "Uhhhh, orange."

"Mmmhm."

They continue to play as they head back to their campsite, their tongues turning purplish-brown after too many colors and their stomachs nearly sick from so many sweets.

Thalia is just about to guess her eleventh one correct in a row when they hear it. Twigs snapping. They both freeze, listening. She looks to him and he nods, drawing his sword. They wait, armed and ready, but the snapping has stopped. It's dead quiet.

And suddenly, there he is. It's a man. He's wearing a ragged gray suit and a matching bowler hat that casts a shadow over his face, making his glare even more menacing.

They stare back, not sure what to make of this man. And then he pounces.

But he is no longer a man, but a long, sleek creature with silvery fur and razor-sharp fangs.

"Luke!" Thalia screams as it tackles him to the ground, growling furiously and ripping away at his clothes. She stabs her spear into its side and it turns to her, snarling angrily. Blood drips from its wound, but it wasn't enough to kill.

"Stop it!" she screams as it sinks its teeth into Luke's shoulder, ripping through the flesh. Luke cries out in agony, a horrible, horrible cry. Thalia stabs frantically. It's killing Luke, its _killing_ him. Again and again, she stabs. And _again. _The creature wails in pain, no longer focused on Luke. And again and again, until the monster's mangled body is completely mutilated. And it's dead. It's _dead_.

She runs to him and kneels by his side. His clothes are practically in pieces, and he has minor cuts and bruises all over him. But his shoulder got the worst of it. The bite is deep, and much of the flesh has been ripped away. She winces when she realizes that the glowing white part beneath the blood is his bone.

"I...waited too long..." he croaks, wincing as if each word hurt him. "They tracked us down..."

"Shhh..." Thalia whispers, trying to stay as calm as she can, for his sake. She unzips her backpack and searches for the baggy.

He groans painfully. "It-it hurts Thalia."

"I know Luke." she says. "It'll be okay..."

Finally, she finds it. "Here." she says, taking one of the yellow squares and placing it in his mouth. Then she sits back on her heels and watches.

It must taste good, because he closes his eyes and sighs heavily. She watches in awe as his cuts fade to nothing, and the muscles in his shoulder repair themselves, the gaping wound shrinking to a pink scar.

"Better?"

He nods. His breathing has slowed and become less pained, and the muscles in his face are more relaxed. However, his skin is still sickly white, and he looks like he could throw up any minute now.

"You think you can make it back to the tent?" He nods once again and she helps him to his feet. He sways dangerously, and she guides his arm over her shoulders for support, holding him up by the waist.

The walk is fairly short, but Thalia can tell it took a lot out of him. She lays him down on a pile of pillows and blankets that she threw together. After all, a guy deserves to be comfortable after having a chunk of his shoulder ripped out.

"No...Thalia...we need to go..." he protests weakly, grabbing her by the hand. "More will come..."

She shakes her head. "We're not going anywhere until you rest."

She can tell he wants to argue, but he doesn't have enough energy left in him. His eyelids fall, and he's asleep.

"Goodnight Luke." she whispers, placing Claudia next to him and gently pushing his hair to the side with her fingers. Though she would never admit it to him, she does care about Luke. So far, he has been the only person in her life whom she trusts with her life, the only person she can completely depend on to be there when she needs him. And she's grateful to him for that.

She leans back against the tent fabric and holds out the remaining yellow squares in her palm. _Ambrosia_, her father had called it. She sighs. If there was a time to start believing in magic, now would be it. After years of running from monsters that no one else could see, being given little blocks of food that can heal any injuries in an instant, and having a father who sometimes appeared to her in the freaking _sky_, it was kind of hard not to believe in it.

Either that, or she's just crazy.

"Thanks Dad." she says aloud, for the first time in her entire life. Sure, she barely even knows what he looks like, but this time he came through. Without the ambrosia, who knows if Luke even would have made it.

But, it doesn't mean she forgives him.

* * *

In case you didn't catch on, the monster that attacked them was a werewolf. And YES, they do exist in Greek mythology. I checked! And isn't there some in the Heroes Of Olympus series?


	6. Chapter 6

Luke awoke feeling very, very sore.

"Morning Sleepyhead." said a familiar voice as he's still transitioning into consciousness. The sun had found a hole in the tent for which to sneak through and assault his eyes. He tries to stretch, but notices that his shoulder feels stiff and a little bit numb. He tries to think back to yesterday...what had happened?

And then without warning, it all comes flooding back. The werewolf, the fangs sinking into his muscles, tearing away at the flesh, the most adrenaline he had ever felt at one time, a pain so great and intense that he couldn't comprehend anything else, not even his own screams.

He closes his eyes, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. "Thalia..." he swallows. "Be honest, how bad is it?" He's surprised when instead of sadly telling him an estimation of how many days he had left, or that she had had to amputate his arm while he was sleeping, Thalia _laughs_.

"You're fine, Luke."

He opens his eyes and frowns. Surely he hadn't dreamed the attack. It had seemed so real...he could so vividly see the monster standing over him, snarling venomously right before it took a bite out of him. Tentatively, he reaches his hand up to his shoulder. All he feels is smooth skin, no blood or bite marks, or anything else unusual.

He sits up and becomes increasingly confused. He reaches down and picks up what's left of his shirt from the ground beside him and stares in bewilderment at his half-shredded pants. If it had all just been a dream, why did his clothes look like they'd been run over by a lawn mower? Unable to come up with an explanation for himself, he looks expectantly to Thalia.

Instead of explaining, she tosses him a small plastic baggy. Inside is a small yellow block of...was it cheese? He raises his eyebrows at her. Was this chunk of cheddar supposed to mean something to him?

"It's ambrosia." she says, as if it's obvious. Again, he raises his eyebrows.

She sighs, as if he were a stupid little kindergartner unable to understand the ABC's. "The food of the gods. At least that's what my father told me."

"I thought you never knew your father?" Luke questions, even _more_ confused.

Thalia shrugs. "Well that's mostly true. He's only appeared to me a couple of times-"

"_Appeared to you_?!"

She furrows her eyebrows, as if considering how to explain herself. "Once, it was in the sky. It was pretty weird actually...his face was shaped from the clouds and..." she stops herself, as Luke's expression is becoming increasingly horrified.

"Okay before I go on, I should probably assure you that I'm _not crazy_! Or high on LSD or something. Seriously! Just hear me out."

He doesn't look any more content, but she has no other option than to continue and hope he believes her. And that he doesn't try to admit her to an insane asylum. "So my dad, he's shown himself to me a couple times. He never stays for long, just to warn me or tell me something important. Or in this case," she nods toward the baggie still in his hand. "give me presents."

"He also gave me this." she adds pulling out her magical mace canister. She waits for him to respond, but he just stares at her.

"But back to the ambrosia," she continues. "My dad gave it to me. He said that it would help in case of injury, but only if eaten in small amounts. Too much can literally burn a mortal to a crisp. So when you got hurt, I remembered it and gave you some. You should have seen it! It healed you in seconds-"

"Okay, hold up." Luke finally spoke, cutting her off. "So you're saying this stuff," he holds up the bag. "is like, the ultimate panacea, but you're the only one who knows about it...and...it _healed_ me? So I wasn't dreaming...the wolf thing actually happened, right?"

Thalia nods. "It ripped off part of your shoulder-"

Luke wrinkles his nose and put a hand up to stop her from continuing. He really didn't want to know all the gory details. "Okay so you gave me some ambrosia, at the risk of it _burning me to a crisp, _I might add..."

She shrugs. "It worked didn't it?"

He shakes his head, ready to change the subject. "But earlier, why did you say 'mortals'?"

Thalia paused, not sure if she wanted to risk his perception of her sanity again. "Because I think..." she takes a deep breath. "I think there are immortals."

"Immortals." he repeats skeptically. "Like...gods?"

Thalia nods. "And I uh...I think my dad is one of them."

Luke frowns. "What would that make you?"

"I don't know. Like...half-god?"

"Half-god..." he ponders.

She sits up a little straighter. "And I think you're one too." she says.

He raises his eyebrows. "You think I'm half-god? Thalia, if we were half _god_, don't you think we'd have like...I don't know, powers or something?"

She smiles guiltily and leads him outside. "Well, I don't know what you'd call this but..." she reaches an arm up to the sky and closes her eyes, concentrating. Luke watches in disbelief as the blue morning sky turns gray and stormy almost instantly. Thunder sounds, and then without warning, a flash of lightning so bright he's temporarily blinded touches down on the tips of her fingers.

"Thalia!" he shouts in panic. "Thalia are you okay?! Did it shock you?!"

She laughs tiredly, as if the last few seconds had completely drained her of energy. "I'm fine Luke. It just takes a lot of effort, that's all."

His eyes widen in disbelief. "You mean-you mean _you_ did _that_?!" he points dramatically at the circle of fried grass around her feet and the dark sky quickly fading back to blue. She nods, grinning.

He stares at her as if all of this shocking information has physically paralyzed him. He blinks a few times, snapping out of it. "So let me get this straight-your dad is a god. Which makes you half-god, like...a demigod or something, and you have the ability to _summon lightning_?! And I suppose all that explains why we're constantly being hounded by monsters. But...you think I'm one too? A demigod?"

"Yes."

He looks down at his palms in wonder and disappointment. "Why don't I have a cool superpower?"

Thalia laughs. And this time, she doesn't stop laughing. She just laughs harder and harder.

He frowns at her. "What?!" he demands.

"I tell you all of this insanely unbelievable stuff, and all you're worried about is your _superpower_?!"

"Well _you_ have one..."

Thalia shakes her head and smiles reassuringly. "Maybe you just haven't discovered it yet." she suggests.

He hopes that she's right. He also hopes it's something cool, like having laser eyes or telekinesis or something.

Then he remembers. "Thalia. We've got to go."

She frowns. "Go where?"

"Anywhere but here." he says, beginning to take apart the tent. "They'll find us again if we don't keep moving." He tosses her the ambrosia. "And keep that stuff handy."

* * *

They knew that walking wasn't going to get them very far, so Luke had a better idea.

Well, at least _he_ thought it was a better idea.

"I can't do it!" Thalia yells over the loud roaring of the tracks and the booming train whistle.

Luke tries to sound encouraging. "Aw c'mon Thals. All you gotta do is jump!"

She glares at him. This conversation was starting to sound familiar, and last time, she had ended up being forced.

She gathers some courage and looks up at the tracks. The train races by, almost as if it were running from them. She gulps. And she thought the cliff had been bad.

"It going too fast!" she pleads.

"Well we're pretty fast too. Plus, if anything happens we've got your," Luke pauses, trying to think of the word. " 'ambrosia' stuff."

This earns him another glare. "We can't take it for granted Luke." Thalia says. "I've only got one square left."

Luke ignores her, squinting into the distance, his eyes widening when he sees the end of the train. "Thalia! We've got to jump! Now!"

He zeros in on one of the empty cars and sprints towards it, grabbing a side handle and gracefully swinging himself inside like he's done it a million times before.

"Your turn!" he calls. "C'mon Thalia! It's now or never!"

She takes a deep breath, looks briefly to the sky, and before she has a chance to change her mind, she goes for it.

Luke's car is already far ahead of her-she has to sprint just to get to it. She's almost there, almost close enough to reach-but she can't go any faster! Her legs burn, and her lungs scream for air, but she's still not close enough. The trains whistle blares, and Luke is yelling at her, but she can't understand what he's saying...

And then she sees it.

Just ahead, the train is disappearing into a dark, narrow tunnel. If she doesn't get on now, she might lose Luke forever.

She hears his voice in her head, "All you gotta do is jump!"

So she does.

She finds the iron handle, but her feet slip and she flies out, hanging on by only one hand. Screaming, she sees the tracks below her, the wheels lie monsters, ready to mangle and crush her bones. 'This is where I die,' she thinks.

Her hand starts the slip, her grip getting weaker. The tunnel is seconds away. Her life flashes before her eyes.

But just before she falls, an arm grabs her by the waist and swiftly pulls her in. She rolls onto the floor of the train car, gasping as the trees disappear and the tunnel walls zip by.

Luke leans against the back wall, also breathing heavily, grinning from ear to ear.

Thalia on the other hand, is not at all amused. "I almost died Luke!" she snaps. "I am never doing that again!" Her voice cracks, her vision going blurry from tears.

Luke's smile fades. "Hey," he says quietly, kneeling beside her. "I'm sorry Thals-"

"Don't touch me." she snaps, turning away.

He ignores her.

Sitting close, he puts a gentle arm around her shoulders, her body still shaking from the adrenaline overdose. Thalia's not surprised; it's like Luke has a sixth sense: girl. Somehow, he always knows what to do when it comes to her. He can sense when it really is best just to leave her alone, but he can also tell when what she says isn't what she means.

And once again, he had sensed correctly. By "Don't touch me" she had most definitely meant, "Feel guilty, apologize, and hold me while I try to calm down about my near-death experience".

And so they stay there, content in a kind of comfortable silence that only best friends can appreciate, as the train gently bounces along the tracks, the dim lights of the tunnel casting an eerie, orangish glow around them.

* * *

They ditch the train the next day. Luke had wanted to hop off a few hours earlier, but Thalia had refused to jump until the train slowed down. Finally, it came to a brief stop in the rural part of a little Pennsylvanian town called Mapleton. They had traveled a very long way, and they hoped it was enough to throw the monsters off for awhile.

The sun had already set by the time the pair found a place to crash for the night.

"Well," Luke grunts, tossing his backpack onto the pile of fresh hay. "It's not the most luxurious place we've ever stayed, but it'll do." He plops down heavily, startling some of the horses and causing the chickens to scatter and squawk angrily.

Thalia is too tired to answer. After a long day of travelling, little food, and a two mile hike to civilization, she too was grateful for the pile of hay. She lies down beside him and pulls her sweatshirt up around her neck to keep warm.

She's just drifting off when-

"Thalia?"

She groans. "Yes, Luke?"

He stares up at the barn roof, avoiding her eyes. "If I have a dad, and he's a _god_," he pauses. "Then why hasn't he ever been there for me?"

Thalia sighs. Of course she wants to reassure him. She wants to tell him that his dad is probably watching over him at this very moment, and he probably has a completely valid excuse for never reaching out to his son...

But best friends don't give each other false hope. So instead, she tells him the truth:

"I don't know, Luke."

He frowns, still looking up as if there's a presence above who is also listening. "If he's so 'godly' and powerful, why didn't he help my mother? Why didn't he help when I was fighting monsters on my own as a nine-year-old kid?!" He's nearly yelling now. "Why don't I even know what he _looks_ like?!"

Whether he knows it or not, Luke is no longer speaking to Thalia. She knows that deep down, he hopes that his father is listening too.

The anger in his eyes fades, his expression changing from fury to sadness. "Why doesn't he care, Thalia?" he asks quietly.

"I don't know, Luke." she says again gently. "But there is something that makes me think that maybe they do care about us."

"What's that?" he asks bitterly.

She smiles into the darkness. "That by some 'miracle', we managed to find each other."

He doesn't reply. "All I'm saying," she yawns. "Is that sometimes I think it might not have been a mere coincidence after all." He continues to be silent, and she wonders if maybe he's fallen asleep.

"Goodnight Luke." she says.

"Goodnight." he answers quietly.

* * *

So what'd you think? Tbh, this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Ever.

Well, finally the explaining part is over. Now they know about the gods and all that jazz.

When they jumped on that train, all I could think was "DAUNTLESSSSS".

I have a couple questions for you guys actually...

1.) Where did Thalia and Luke find Annabeth? Was it in New York?

2.) The time when Hermes talks to Luke at his mom's house, is that the first time he's ever met his dad? or did he meet him before that?

Oh and Annabeth coming soon! I promise!


	7. Chapter 7

_**Have yourself a merry little Christmas**_

_**Make the Yuletide gay**_

_**From now on, your troubles will be miles away...**_

Thalia was not having a 'merry little Christmas' at all. She whimpered as the wind blew a huge chunk of snow off of a tree branch and straight into her face. It was so cold it burned, and trying to wipe it away with her snow-covered gloves only made things worse.

It was Christmas day, and they'd gotten a little lost. They hadn't been too concerned at first, considering they had no real destination anyways, but then it had started snowing.

At first, it was wonderful. Thalia had always loved white Christmas's. They'd caught the snowflakes on their tongues, had a snowball fight, and even built a miniature snowman named Fred.

Luke adjusted the acorns they'd used for Fred's mouth into a frown. "Looks like you Thalia." he'd teased. He'd instantly regretted it when an unexpected snowball nailed him in the face. She'd laughed, but Luke had decided not to retaliate. While she had been much happier since she'd met him, it still wasn't often that Thalia laughed like that. He liked it when she was happy, and he hadn't wanted to ruin her good mood.

But despite his efforts, Thalia's 'good mood' hadn't lasted long. The wind had picked up, the snow had begun to plummet rather than float down as tiny snowflakes, and then suddenly, they'd found themselves knee deep in the stuff with no shelter for miles.

"Is winter still your favorite season?" Luke called behind him over the roaring wind.

She glared at the back of his head and shoved her hands deeper into her coat pockets. He was only a few feet ahead of her, but she could barely see him through the flurries.

_**Through the years, we all will be together**_

_**If the Fates allow**_

_**Hang a shining star upon the highest bow...**_

Above them was only gray darkness. Instead of twinkling stars, the sky was blank and stormy, not a single light to be seen. Thalia's heart sank lower and lower in her chest as her favorite holiday of the year slowly became the worst.

She hated to admit it, but Luke was right: this sucked. That wonderful "Christmas"spirit was long gone, and now she was starting to feel a lot more like Scrooge. She had lost feeling in her hands over an hour ago, her "waterproof" boots were already soaked through, and she was pretty sure her ears were completely frostbitten.

Luke was getting farther and farther ahead, and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep up. She felt as if the cold was shutting her down, every step draining her of what little energy she had left.

**_Faithful friends who are dear to us_**

**_gather near to us once more..._**

She was just about to give up when a hand around her waist steadies her. "Just a little further Thals." Luke says. She managed a weak nod, and continued to trudge through the snow.

And then there it was.

She saw a large, dark shape through the snow. Was it...a cabin? Her heart leapt with hope and excitement. Shelter! But wait...could she be cold and desperate enough to hallucinate? Could it simply be a mirrage of some kind?

When Luke finally drags her inside, it felt too good to be true. She half expected the cabin to disappear beneath her feet; the wooden floor to melt back into snow just as if it had never been there.

But either her hallucinations were extremely vivid, or the cabin was real. Luke hurriedly threw a match into the fireplace and the two began stripping out of their soaked clothes without hesitation. Any other day Thalia would have been apalled and embarassed if Luke saw her in just her underwear and sports bra, but right now she was too cold to care.

Luke didn't seem to mind either. In just his plaid boxers, he disapeared down the hallway and returned with a huge, fluffy comforter.

She grinned in relief. Still shivering, she pulls it around herself and lies down right there on the floor in front of the fire. Luke chuckled through chattering teeth and joined her. He wondered how the owners would react if they came home to find a giant human burrito on their living room floor, but on the other hand, he wasn't actually all that concerned.

The heat of the fire thawed their frozen noses and dried their damp hair. She could feel Luke shivering beside her, but eventually it slowed down to gentle breathing. She sneezes and he laughs sleepily.

"Got a cold?" he asks, eyes still closed.

She answers his question with another sneeze. "And probably a little frostbite too." she mutters miserably.

He sighs and pulls her to him, wrapping his arms around her. On a normal day she would growl at him to let go or tell him to go cuddle with Claudia or something, but right now she can't bring herself to pull away from his blissfully warm body.

So instead she just closes her eyes and lets her forehead rest against his bare skin, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath.

And as they grew warmer, her Christmas spirit returned. She no longer cared that she hadn't had the 'perfect' Christmas, because while other people had desserts, presents, and Christmas trees, she had something better:

Someone who loved and cared for her as much as she loved and cared for him.

**_So have yourself a merry little Christmas_**

**_Let your heart be light_**

**_From now on, your troubles will be out of sight..._**

"Merry Christmas, Thalia." he whispers into her hair.

She smiles. "Merry Christmas."

* * *

Well, I'm honestly not happy with this chapter. I thought a Christmas chapter would be great and easy to do, but it didn't turn out how I wanted it. I felt a little rushed, just because school starts tomorrow (nooooooooooooo) and I wanted to get one more chapter in. Well I'll probably redo it when I have time. I'm dying for suggestions, like things you didn't like or a cute little Christmasy idea I should add.

Also, one thing I feel like I screwed up on was the tense. I'd always used past tense, but then for this story I tried to use present tense until this chapter. Which is better? I'm just really confused


	8. Chapter 8

Thalia's heart stopped when a blinding pair of headlights appeared out of the darkness before them, the car's horn blaring in alarm. "Luke!" she screamed. He cursed and spun the wheel, throwing her sideways as they swerved. The tires screeched to a stop, and they narrowly avoided the collision.

"Sorry!" Luke called over the windshield to the other driver. The man flipped them off, shouting profanities as he drove away. Luke fell back into the seat heavily and sighed in relief. "Well that was close." he said. Thalia didn't reply, but her menacing glare said it all.

Finally, she spoke. "You were in the wrong _lane_ Luke!" she cried angrily. She turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "You almost got us killed!"

Cars zoomed by, rocking their feeble convertible each time they passed. "I know-" he tried, but she promptly intterupted.

"Shut up." she snapped, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door. "I'm driving."

He instantly laughed at the absurd idea. She couldn't _actually_ be serious. "Thalia, you're thirteen." he pointed out.

She raised her eyebrows challengingly. "And?" she said. Even if she was only thirteen, she couldn't possibly be a worse driver than Luke.

She was serious, he realized. His smile faded. "Thalia, get in the car." he said, trying his best to sound intimidating.

"No."

He groaned and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. Man, was she difficult sometimes. "I'm counting to three." he warned. "If you're not in the car-"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, _Mom_." she said sarcastically.

"One..." he began.

She crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face.

"Two..."

She didn't move a muscle, her defiance growing with each number.

"Three." He shrugged and started the ignition, the engine roaring to life. Thalia's arrogant smile melted.

She frowned. "You wouldn't."

Luke raised his eyebrows as if to say "try me". He pressed down on the gas, and the car lept forward a few feet.

"Luke..." she growled, becoming increasingly more annoyed.

He looked back at her in mock innocence. "Yes, Thalia?" He drove forward a few more feet and flipped on the radio.

Now she was frustrated. Fuming, she stomped up to the car and leaned in the window. "Just let me drive." she said, almost more begging than demanding. However, she managed to maintain a menacing glare, and it almost looked more intimidating in the moonlight.

But Luke stood his ground. He cupped a hand around his ear. "What's that?" he shouted over the music. "I can't hear you!" Once again he pressed down on the gas and the convertible lurched forward, throwing Thalia backwards.

That was the last straw. "Gods Luke! You're so freaking annoying!" she yelled, her blood pounding in her ears. She could feel her face heating up, despite the cool night air.

Of course, he ignored her. "_I came in like a wrecccckkkkingggg baaalllllll!" _he sang over her insults. He drove forward slowly, Thalia having to walk to keep up.

She wanted to scream she was so angry. "FINE!" she shouted, grabbing the door handle and swinging herself in.

Luke grinned, turned down the volume on the radio, and pulled back onto the highway. They drove in silence, but he swore the temperature had risen when Thalia had gotten in, as if her fury was literally burning inside of her.

"You know I was bluffing, right?" he said, breaking the silence. It was too dark to see, but he could almost sense her roll her eyes. He had lived with her long enough to know that she wasn't about to forgive him any time soon, so he reached behind him and tossed her a blanket. She said nothing, but curled up into the seat and wrapped the warm fabric around herself.

"_Hold on to me as we go_..." the radio sang softly._ "As we roll down, this unfamiliar road...although this wave, wa-ve is stringing us along..." _He was glad when he heard Thalia's slow, gentle breathing. Maybe she would sleep off some of her anger.

"_Just know you're not alone...cause' I'm gonna make this place your home_..."

* * *

"Thalia wake up!"

She groaned as Luke shook her and reluctantly opened her eyes. The car was illuminated by flashing red and blue lights and sirens wailed behind them.

She sat up and cursed. They should have figured the police would come after them eventually. After all, you don't steal a hundred-thousand-dollar convertible and expect no one to care.

Luke pressed on the gas and they sped up, putting some extra space between them and the cop car. Thalia glanced back nervously. "I knew that beat-up pick-up truck was a better idea..." she said bitterly.

Cars honked as Luke weaved in between them in an effort to throw the policeman off. "Well that wouldn't have been any fun." he answered bluntly.

Suddenly a staticy voice boomed from behind them, "You are under arrest. Pull over now and the charges will not be as severe." Luke nearly laughed. The least they would do was fine them, and neither him nor Thalia had more than two dollars on them. The next and more appropriate option would be juvenile detention, and they didn't have time for that.

They made eye contact and in a split second the decision was made. Now way were they going to jail. Luke pressed on the gas, and the arrow on the speedometer jumped.

"Alright, we're ditching the car." he told her. She nodded and grabbed up their backpacks.

Without warning, he jerked the wheel sideways and they careened off the asphalt and into an overgrown ditch. They threw off their seatbelts and practically leapt out of the car, adrenaline pumping as the sirens grew louder.

Luke instinctively shot for the woods, but Thalia struggled to keep up under the weight of both backpacks. He quickly grabbed the heavier one off her shoulders. "C'mon Thals!" he shouted frantically. They ducked into the foliage just as the police car pulled up, lights flashing.

They ran and ran, their hearts racing as they weaved through the trees.

"Oof!"

Luke stopped. "Thalia?" he called into the darkness.

"Down here..." she whimpered from the ground. Her foot had caught on a tree root, causing her to face-plant quite ungracefully.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her up. She nodded, and then quite to Luke's surprise, she began to laugh.

At first he was confused. He wondered if she had hit her head or something when she'd fallen. Then she was laughing so hard that she could barely stand up, and stumbled clumsily into him. Whoever said laughing was contagious was absolutely right, because suddenly he was laughing too.

She eventually calmed down, clutching her side and breathing heavily. "Sorry..."she said. "It's just that..." she grinned. "That was awesome."

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "Being chased down by the police? Or crashing a car worth more than both our lives put together?"

"Both."

Luke laughed and shook his head. "C'mon." he said, shouldering his backpack. "The safe house shouldn't be too much further."

* * *

"Are you sure?" Thalia asked.

Luke nodded. "Something down here. I sense it."

A rumble sounded through the alleyway. Thalia glanced at Luke, who nodded. The two held their weapons at the ready and crept forward, toward a group of old crates stacked on the loading dock. A sheet of corrugated tin shuddered like there was something behind it.

Thalia looked at Luke, who mouthed, "One, two, three," and yanked away the tin. A blur of flannel and blonde hair flew forward, making Thalia jump.

"Whoa!" Luke said. He grabbed her wrist and her weapon of choice, a hammer, flew out of her hand. Thalia was impressed; the girl had been lightning fast and would have brained Luke if his years on the streets hadn't honed his reflexes. And even when captured, the girl fought like a tiger, kicking at Luke and trying to claw at him. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight.

"No more monsters!" she shrieked. "Go away!"

"It's okay!" Luke said, holding onto her with difficulty. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her." Thalia tapped her newest toy, a copy of her father's Aegis shield, and it melted back into a silver bracelet on her wrist. It had been a gift of sorts, but a hard-won one. She didn't like to think about the events leading up to her acquisition of the shield.

"Hey, it's all right," she said, trying to soothe the girl. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."

"Monsters!" the little girl insisted.

"No," Luke said. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them too."

Slowly, the girl stopped kicking and studied the two of them. Thalia noticed her eyes for the first time—they were large and strikingly gray. "You're like me?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Luke said. "We're…well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

"My family hates me," the girl said. "They don't want me. I ran away."

"What's your name, kiddo?" Thalia asked.

"Annabeth," the girl said.

Thalia couldn't help but smile at that. It was an unusual name, but a pretty one, and she thought it suited the little girl well.

Luke smiled. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth—you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

Annabeth's eyes went wide. "You could?"

"Oh, yeah." Luke held out his knife to her. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

Annabeth took the knife from Luke, examining it with wide eyes.

"Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," he told her. They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife." He smiled at Annabeth. "I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

"I am!" Annabeth said, her gray eyes alight with adoration.

Thalia hid a smile behind her hand. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

Annabeth looked suddenly suspicious. "You're…you're not going to take me back to my family? Promise?"

Luke put a hand on her shoulder. "You're part of our family now," he said. "And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

"Deal!" Annabeth said happily.

"Now, come on," Thalia said. "We can't stay put for long."

* * *

Annabeth didn't last the trip back to the safe house. The darker it got, the heavier her eyelids became and the clumsier her feet. Her head bobbed as if she were too exhausted to hold it up and she stumbled every now and then, her little seven-year-old legs not built for such a trek.

Luke noticed this and scooped her up in his arms. The poor kid passed out almost instantly, her limbs going slack and her head resting comfortably in the crook of his neck.

By the time they arrived at the shabby little hut they now called home, the stars twinkled in the sky and the moon loomed overhead.

"She can sleep in my bed." Luke volunteered. He gently laid her down on the sleeping bag and Thalia covered her with a blanket. Annabeth sighed contently, her arms finding Claudia and pulling her to her chest.

Thalia smiled, waiting for Luke's reaction. He frowned, unsure of what to do. But surely you couldn't just take a teddy bear from a little kid, could you? He felt a pang of sadness when he realized that Claudia looked happy, snuggled there in Annabeth's arms.

"I was getting too old for her anyways." he decided.

Thalia smiled, and much to his surprise, kissed him on the cheek.

He blushed.

She rolled her eyes.

* * *

So did you like it? I know it's been forever since I've posted, and I sincerely apologize. But on the bright side, ANABETH'S HERE! Finallllllyyyyyyy haha. I know you've probably read that middle part a hundred times, but I wanted to incorporate part of the actual book. And it was also easier on me ;)

Love you guys!


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